


Twelve Days at Burke's

by FIVEpoint9



Category: Blaseball (Video Game)
Genre: 12x100, Mexico City Wild Wings (Blaseball Team) - Freeform, communal home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:34:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29854707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FIVEpoint9/pseuds/FIVEpoint9
Summary: Burke's apartment is a regular place for the Wings to stay the night, or just hang out.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Twelve Days at Burke's

“You’re just wish you could keep your cool as well as me.”

“’Keep your cool’? You don’t even do anything! What do _you_ have to keep your cool about!”

“Like you even know what’s going on in my life, kid.”

“WHO YOU CALLING KID?!?”

The sound of a chair scraping across the floor causes Axel and Yong to stop their argument. Burke puts the chair directly between the two of them, plops down in it, unfolds a newspaper and asks, “Are you both quite done?”

Axel and Yong look bashfully at the ground and quietly walk away from each other.

-

Cell looks out over the city from the balcony. “Heading back to the Bucket in the morning?” Burke asks, walking through the sliding glass door. It has been a hot minute since this Cell had left for Lima.

“Yeah. It was great to head out on my own, to be able to think for myself and not have to second guess if any decision was really my own.” Cell turns around and wraps her wings around her like a blanket. “But there’s really nothing like coming home, being with my family, _really belonging_ , you know?”

“Mmhm,” Burke grunts in agreement.

-

“What’s happening, gamers! Tonight we’re gonna have a chill stream with some more Zelda, Oracle of Seasons. I think we left off right before the Unicorn’s Cave. Thanks for the bits, SpilkDrinkr56! No, that’s not my dad, just my roommate. Burke, come over here and tell them you’re not my dad or chat’s never going to let this go.”

“Hello, people on the computer. No, Joshua is not my child, we just share an apartment. Now, Joshua, I was just going to make some hot chocolate, would you like a cup?”

“With marshmallows, please? Thanks. Okay, back to the game...”

-

The television blares with the roar of the crowd at a rugby match. Mullen relaxes on the couch, nursing a cup of coffee. A few feet away in the kitchen, Burke finishes cutting up vegetables and adds them to a slow cooker. He pours himself a cup of coffee and joins Mullen on the couch. “Should be ready by lunch. Any tries scored?”

“Not yet, but there was a yellow card pulled earlier. And no one’s died.”

“This is a normal human’s game in the material plane. They don’t usually die in them.”

“It’s rugby. Those rules don’t always apply.”

-

“You were the one that told me to start cooking for myself.”

“I know I did, Francisca.” Burke laid out some extra blankets on the spare bed. Fran says that she doesn’t mind cold nights, but the blankets always end up looking like a nest on the bed. “But I was expecting you to use a stove or a microwave.”

“How’s the meat supposed to get the right smoky flavor without real fire?” Fran breaks out a lopsided grin, heading to the kitchen. “’Sides, you’ll have plenty a time to teach me til they clean up all the water damage!”

-

“It’s only for tonight and I swear it’ll be like I’m not even here.” Silvia shoves a large bag through the front door. “You know I’d never ask except my usual girl had to cancel last minute and I know I can count on you!”

Burke grabs the bag and puts it down on the couch. “Of course you’re always welcome, but you could have at least phoned ahead.”

She pats him on the cheek. “You’re a doll. Now, I’ll need to be fed by 5 if you’re going to want me asleep by sundown, and trust me, you will.”

-

The coffee table was littered with blaseball arena blueprints, psychrometric charts, and batter analyses. Rafael stares as a wind tunnel simulations finishes on a beat up old laptop. “Hey, I think we’ve done it,” he says, spinning the laptop around for Burke to see. “I think we’ve got a working model!” Burke beams as a cool, soft breeze blew through the apartment. Summers’ voice follows after it, “Hmm, do you guys really think you should use humidity as a constant?” Raf and Burke look at each other with long faces, let out a sign, and get back to their work.

-

“I’m not going to have room to sleep at this rate,” Burke mutters, hauling a box down the hall.

“Nonsense!” Ronan laughs, following behind him with a hand truck loaded with even more boxes, “Since when have you been short on space? Besides, these ain’t sticking around for long. I’ll have them sold and out of your hair in no time! Say, would you be interes-”

“No.” Burke flatly cuts off Ronan before his spiel gets its legs. He opens the door to the storeroom. When did he have a storeroom? “What’s in these anyways?”

“It’s better you don’t know.”

-

Burke scoops up piles of braille paper and tries to organize them as best he can on an already overly cluttered desk. “I’m going to need those.” Case says, typing away at their laptop. “There’s still work to do.”

“Not right now, there isn’t,” Burke says, putting a hand on their shoulder and moving the laptop away. “Right now you need to eat before you collapse.”

“That amicus isn’t going to write itself!”

“And this nopales rellano isn’t going to eat itself.”

“...vegetarian?”

“Of course.” Burke puts down one plate in front of Case and sits down with his own.

-

NaN follows Burke up the stairs to the apartment. They’ve been up here plenty of times before, but they still have to ask, “Are you sure this is alright? I’m not imposing?”

“Of course not. We may have to play against each other now, but it’s always a pleasure to have you over when you’re in town.”

NaN looks down at their feet. They could have stayed at the hotel with the rest of the Lovers. But they’d much rather be right here, right now. “...Thank you for this.”

Burke unlocks the door and gestures inside, smiling. “Welcome back home.”

-

“I just don’t want to be the one to let the team down,” Stephanie croaked in a hoarse voice. “To be the one that chokes at the wrong moment.”

Burke puts down a mug of tea in front of her and sits down with his own. He let silence and the smell of lemongrass fill the space between them until she took a sip. “You won the biggest game of our history. We trust you. If you ever feel like you need to take a break, the team will listen.” He takes a sip and lets the tea warm him.

-

He takes the one dish from the table and washes it in the sink. It’s good to have a nightly routine. Make sure everything is put away. Make a list of what needs to be picked up the next day. Take out the trash. Turn off all the lights on the way to the bedroom. Turn on the radio and read a book until feeling tired enough to sleep. Burke turns off the radio and lays back in his bed. There’s not a sound to be heard, and the place seems just a little bit colder, as Burke sleeps alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Started writing this during the grand siesta. The events of season 12 motivated me to finish it.


End file.
